Al Jazeera America 'the most ambitious American television news venture since...

A fascinating comparison from the New York Times:

Al Jazeera America is the most ambitious American television news venture since Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes started the Fox News Channel in 1996. It faces some of the same obstacles that Fox eventually glided over — including blanket skepticism about whether distributors, advertisers and viewers will give it a chance. But that is where the parallels to other channels end, because Al Jazeera America is going against the grain of seemingly every trend in television news.

Back when Fox News was launched in 1996, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch struggled to have it picked up by cable providers. He was successful after offering to pay them (rather than the other way around) $11 per subscriber.

Al Jazeera America launches Tuesday.

@eScarry